


Ships and 'Ships

by JaneyKatherineHummingbird



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Age Difference, Don’t Like Don’t Read, F/M, Genderswap, Pirk, ships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-04
Updated: 2017-08-04
Packaged: 2018-12-11 03:35:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11705979
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JaneyKatherineHummingbird/pseuds/JaneyKatherineHummingbird
Summary: Jamie Kirk is in dire straits and seeks out a wise man to advise her on the value of her father's collection.





	Ships and 'Ships

"You've got to be kidding me!" Muttered Jamie to herself as she plopped the latest bill down on her table. She'd been trying hard to keep up, but with her hours cut at work and her old roommate leaving, she was about to fall seriously behind. 

Slumping into a chair, she stared blankly at the "endless pile of despair" she'd racked up. 

Adulthood really wasn't all it had cracked up to be, she thought ruefully. She now had one week to pay up or get evicted and then what would she do? 

Stay with Spock? Maybe for a little while, but that wouldn't work very long. She couldn't deal with his never ending logic that long without going insane. 

Hang out at Bones's place? Ha! Like she'd ever be the person to disturb newlywed bliss. He and Carol were so sappy, she felt her blood sugar rise just watching them. 

Find a new apartment? She probably couldn't afford anything else. The one she was in was one of the most affordable (without being trashy) in the city. 

New job? She'd been looking for weeks already and had had no luck.

With a sigh, she pulled out her rugged laptop and started typing a petition to her landlord, begging him for another week extension. Otherwise, she'd be forced to pawn some heirlooms soon. 

Her dad's collection of antique model ships might just fetch enough for a couple months rent, she realized, heck just one could probably do it. Hadn't her neighbor said there was a guy a couple floors up that knew all about nautical antiques?  
Maybe he could tell her if it would be worth it or not before she took them to a shop. 

One phone call later, she was nervously standing in front of the door she'd been directed to. 

"He's really nice," Carol had assured her. "A bit crusty, but never rude or "get-off-my-lawn" type. You can tell he was very good looking back in his heyday." 

Who cares what he looked like? She only cared about having a roof over her head. With a determined move, she pressed the door bell. Within moments, it opened to reveal a pleasant faced middle aged man in a well worn Navy T-shirt and jeans.

"Can I help you?" He asked.

"Umm, Hi! I'm Jamie and I live two floors down. I was looking for someone to look over these old model ships I need to get rid of and Carol Marcus said you would be able to tell if they had value or not." 

"I've collected my fair share over the years," the man said. "C'mon in." 

Tentatively, Jamie stepped into the apartment and noticed right away the tidiness of it. Rather unusual for a bachelor, she thought, but not if he'd been in the military. 

There was indeed, a scattering of nautical memorabilia around living area, decorated in crisp shades of black, grey, and blue. 

"My name's Chris Pike, by the way," her good natured host said. "And you are...."

"Jamie Kirk."

Chris started at this and looked at her until the silence became awkward.

"Ommm, you're looking at me weird. Do I have something on my face? Please tell me I'm not related to your mortal enemy or anything, because that would be really awkward," Jamie blurted out.

Chris shook his head and chuckled.

"Nope, nothing like that. The opposite, in fact. George Kirk was your father, right?" 

"Yeah," Jamie admitted, the proverbial light bulb of realization going on suddenly in her mind. 

"You served with him in the navy, didn't you?" 

"All too briefly," Chris acknowledged. "He was a good man and a fine officer. I'm guessing your models are inherited from him?" 

Jamie nodded and carefully took out the three small ships in their little display cases. Two of them were clipper ships and one was a World War II battleship. Chris's sharp eyes examined all three of them carefully as Jamie thanked her Stars he seemed to be trustworthy. 

"These are in incredible condition," he remarked. "But the small size limits the value a bit. I'm guessing this isn't the extent of the collection, though."

"No it's not," Jamie confirmed. "There's at least thirty more, and most of them are bigger. I brought the ones I could actually carry." 

"I see. Well, I'd be glad to take a look at them if you're intent on selling them all."

His voice sounded a tone disappointed and Jamie hastened to explain the situation. 

"I know, I know. It sounds horrible to sell my late father's heirlooms, but it's that or I'm out on the streets. My job hours have been cut so I'm not making as much and had some unexpected expenses so I've reached a point where it's pawn this, or beg the landlord for mercy. Begging doesn't appeal to me, especially since it's rumored he's a bit of a hardass. Thus, buh-bye model ships."

A strange expression crossed his face when she was speaking, but he didn't act condemning or pitying, so Jamie relaxed.

They ended up sitting on his couch and talking for some time before the conversation circled back to Jamie's employment dilemma.

"Where do you work, Jamie?"

"A supposedly entry level position at Marcus technologies. I was told I'd get a nice IT job sooner or later, but they lied to me: I've worked my tail off and never been promoted in seven years. Now, they've cut my hours and I'm pretty sure I'm going to get let go soon."

She tried not to sound bitter but the frustration did seep into her voice as she explained her dead end job. She'd watched people who had far less experience get promoted over her time after time and was at the end of her rope. 

"I'd recommend Enterprise, if you're looking for an IT job. Great place and they don't make false promises."

"I've tried. They're never hiring," Jamie sighed.

"As someone with friends at that company, I can assure you they are hiring as of last month."

"Really?" Jamie peeked up at this news. She'd heard a lot of good things about Enterprise, but they were very picky about who they hired and in high demand so when there were open positions, they were filled quickly. 

"Yes," Chris smiled at her again and she vaguely noticed how warm and crinkly his smile really was. 

"Not bad," went through her mind before she mentally kicked herself for thinking such a thing. 

"Wow, you're like, super helpful," she exclaimed. "Would you be willing to come take a look at the rest of the collection? I could sell a few, pay rent, and apply at Enterprise! No begging required."

"Exactly," Chris said encouragingly. "I'd be happy to help, but I don't think you need to worry about the land lord. His reputation is a bit overblown. Sure, he can be ornery, but when someone's down on their luck, he's willing to give grace." 

"Sounds like you know him pretty well," Jamie observed.

"You could say that," Pike said, then with a wink he added, "you're looking at him." 

Years later, they'd both laugh about the look on Jamie's face when she realized she'd talked trash about the landlord to his face. 

Chris however, always said it was that cute blush and consternation that had him falling for her in the first place. Jamie did NOT get evicted, DID get her dream job at Enterprise Innovations, and somehow the collection of George Kirk was NOT sold, but ended up occupying a prime spot in the shared apartment of Chris and Jamie when she moved in three years later.


End file.
